Keeping Vows, Breaking Faith
by The Sneeze
Summary: Directly after HBP, Severus returns to Spinner's End with an unusual burden: Draco. With his mother dead and his beliefs thrashed, Draco finds himself with just a worthless title and an Unbreakable Vow. From Voldemort to the Order, can he find his place?
1. Chapter 1

**HBP spoilers galore. For a taste of where this fic is going, make sure to read to the end.**

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"GET AWAY FROM THE BLASTED DOOR!"

Wormtail yipped as the front door swung violently open. He attempted to step back as it did so, but slipped on some of the rain water pouring in from the streets of Spinner's End. His heel twisted, and he fell backwards onto the floor.

Landing with a painful thud, he looked up wildly to catch a glimpse of a hooded figure filling the door frame, outlined by curtains of rain. The figure threw back his hood, and to Wormtail's increasing terror, he saw that it was a livid Severus Snape. The Death Eater was even more frightening than usual, with his hair plastered wildly to his cheeks, and a look of fury contorting his features unrecognizably.

"_Get out of my way!_" Severus screamed over the howl of the rain. Wormtail quickly obliged, scuttling backwards out of the entryway, leaving a wet trail behind him.

Severus stepped in then, turning to close the front door with great effort. As he moved, Wormtail could see the man was carrying something under one arm. Something quite large, also wrapped in a dark cape.

The noise from the storm instantly ceased as the door was bolted, leaving only the sounds of dripping water and Severus's footsteps across the pantry way. He ignored Wormtail as he let his heavy burden slip from his grasp and drop onto the floor. Wormtail gave a small gasp when he recognized Severus's baggage to be human; the sprawled legs and pale skin peeking through the cloak gave it away. But the face was too far away to be recognized, and Wormtail dared not approach any closer for fear of igniting Severus's anger. Speaking of the Death Eater, Wormtail noticed that the man was bleeding--from a cut on his face and a wound in his side–and felt a little better about being yelled at.

Severus stripped off the saturated robes and let them slip to the floor as well. Touching his side wound gingerly, he muttered something that sounded an awful lot like, "damned hippogriff."

"Wuzzat, Severus?" Wormtail broke the silence, motioning to the figure pooling water on the tile.

Severus ignored him, but did return his attention to the body. His knelt down, his fingers passing over the cloak until he snagged a corner of it, and began stripping it off. Feeling a little braver now that the wizard's attention was elsewhere, Wormtail stepped forward to get a better look. The heavy soaked fabric was pulled away, revealing a pale and shivering boy, and one quite young at that.

"Oh-_ho_! That there is Malfoy's boy! What 'er you doing with _him_, Severus?" Wormtail crowed.

"The Dark Lord has placed him under my care for the time being," the wizard answered quietly. He dropped Draco's sopping cape and muttered a drying spell over the unconscious boy. Draco's clothes instantly warmed, but he still lay quivering.

"Why has he done that, then?"

"I do not make a habit of questioning the Dark Lord."

"But _this_ is all you bring home after killing the master's greatest enemy? Surely he has rewar--"

"Be _silent_, rodent." Severus snapped, standing back up.

"Did you ask to be given the boy, Severus? I cannot imagine Narcissa giving her son up so easily..."

"Narcissa is dead."

Wormtail blinked in surprise. He had not been fond of Narcissa–no, he was not fond of anyone anymore–but he had admired her beauty, had envied her powerful family. He contemplated his next question for a moment.

"Did she anger the Dark Lord?"

Severus's eyes flicked towards the blonde boy laying on the tile before he answered. "Both she and Lucius have gravely aggravated him," he answered. After briefly considering leaving the explanation at that, he continued, "During the attack on Hogwarts, Bellatrix and some others led a raid on Azkaban, but Lucius refused to escape. He fled rather than return with them".

Wormtail squeaked, but he looked more amused than upset. "He was afraid, and rightfully so of facing the Dark Lord's wrath! But betraying the master? How_ stupid _of him! "

"Perhaps Narcissa would have been spared...but the Dark Lord turned his anger towards Draco and she lost control. She had already been accused of defying Him...but her son has always been her soft spot."

"And now she's dead for it!" Wormtail chimed in gleefully.

"It is a _waste_!" Severus growled, but stopped abruptly. Wormtail was eyeing him quizzically, too much so. "Regardless," he continued, all emotion drained from his voice, "the Dark Lord has spared the boy and placed him in my keep. It's certainly none of your concern".

Wormtail grunted in response, his beady eyes flashing in the dim light.

"No--_your_ concern is getting your necessities together. This house isn't safe for us anymore. Too many wizards know I take up residence here...and the Dark Lord has asked us to join him".

Severus went to leave the foyer, but stopped when he felt an odd sensation at the back of his neck. Turning, he saw Wormtail crouched over Draco, his yellow fingernails stretched out towards the boy's face.

"_So pretty_..." Wormtail was murmuring. "_What a pretty little thing you are..._"

A bolt shot from Severus's wand and hit the man between the eyes; he squeaked and fell back once more, holding a hand to his face.

"Don't touch him again, _rodent_," Severus warned. "I shall know if you do." With a flap of his dark cloak, he disappeared into the dark house.

* * *

Severus sat on the edge of his bed. He had been sitting there for many hours now, his pale, bony fingers laced together, his back bowed and still. The room was pitch, the only light coming from random bursts of lightning which illuminated a night-stand where a wand lay harmlessly. 

Everywhere was stillness, every room was quiet. The only sounds in the whole house were muffled crying sounds, drifting up through the floorboards. At least the boy had regained consciousness.

The Death Eater looked up at the window; his greasy hair fell messily against the translucent skin of his hollowed face. He looked years older than he had a few days ago.

His vision eventually blurred, but still he stared out, silently, into the rain.

* * *

In the early hours of the morning, far before the sun's return to the sky, Severus descended the staircase with several suitcases willed with essentials. 

Before he could even reach the last step, Wormtail came rushing up to him, wailing.

"Severus! _Severus! _That boy is chucking things at me! He's destroyed the kitchen–h-he broke the teapot–did you hear that? There he goes again! I _tried_ to stop him but h-he tried to stab me with a kitchen knife–!"

Severus scowled deeply at the little man. "Stop your squealing–and never mind the boy. I'll deal with him. Have you gotten your things together? We're apparating in a few minutes."

"A-almost everything..."

"Then finish. _Now._"

He watched Wormtail scurry away before entering the kitchen. A tea cup whizzed by his head the moment he walked in. The next one was aimed surer, but he deflected it with his wand.

Draco was across the room, wrenching another cabinet door open, looking for more projectiles. When he looked up and saw Severus, his eyes burned with renewed anger.

"There are more glasses in the cabinet by your legs," Severus remarked, frowning at the state of things.

"_I hate you_," Draco hissed, his hands trembling. "You've taken everything away from me!_EVERYTHING!"_

"But it's because of me that your alive, need I remind you."

"Oh, yea!" Draco's voice was strained and peaking, and as wild as his eyes."I forgot to thank you for that, now didn't I? Yea, well thanks-a-fucking-bloody lot for _d-destroying me_ and leaving me alive to suffer! _Thanks for not finishing the job, Severus_!" He let out a hollow laugh.

Severus didn't say anything for a while; he just watched Draco put a foot threw his cabinet when it wouldn't open for him. He shrieked and tore at it for a while longer, his whole body spasming, before abruptly stopping mid-swing and sliding down to the floor.He just sat there and breathed heavily, glaring at Severus with as much malice as he could summon. It was quite a bit, considering the circumstances.

"We must get going, Draco. That is, if your through throwing this tantrum." Severus looked down his sharp nose at the boy.

"Shut up!" Draco snapped, his voice shaking. "I hate you. I _h-hate_ you. You aren't going through what I'm going through. You d-don't know–you have no idea!"

The Death Eater's lips curled into a wicked sneer. He crossed the kitchen quickly, to where Draco was curled. The boy shrank further when he saw Severus's fast approach. But he was unable to stop Severus from seizing his face in a cold, painful grip and jerking it up to stare eye-to-eye with the man.

"_I have no idea?_ You're a revolting little brat, aren't you Draco? You've been _so_ coddled your whole life, and now that you think you've been abandoned, you have no will to live? You're ready to become a sniveling _nothing _now that you have to stand on your own two feet? Look at you! You dare call yourself a pureblood? A Malfoy? Narcissa would _spit_ on you now."

Draco was listening in silence until mention of his mother. With that, his eyes flashed open and he through his elbow out violently. Snape blocked the assault by grabbing the arm, then the other. He shoved Draco into the cabinet, all the while the boy was screaming in his face, "_don't you dare use her name! You have no right to use HER name! You are nothing like her! She trusted you, and you betrayed her!"_

"I did no such thing," Severus snapped back. "She valued your safety over all others–the vow I made only concerns you, not her! She knew I would protect you, and I have."

"RUDDY JOB YOU'VE MADE OF IT!"

"I offered you my support, or have you forgotten?" he hissed. "I offered you a chance, but no–you had to kill Dumbledore without any assistance. You could have claimed all the glory, and perhaps saved your mother, but I had to finish the job for you, no didn't I? The only favor I got from the Dark Lord was your worthless life!"

Draco turned away, his next words dying in his throat. His jaw flinched, and several hot tears squeezed out of his eyes. Severus released him.

"That's right, boy. _You_ are more responsible for Narcissa's death that I. I know it's occurred to even you." Severus stood upright and straightened his robes. "But because of her sacrifice, the Dark Lord has released you. Very few can walk away like you have, do you understand? Now you have the chance to make her death mean something, if you can stop wallowing in this nauseating self pity."

Severus heard shuffling feet, and turned to see Wormtail standing in the doorway.

"Er...I've gotten everything packed, like you asked," he muttered.

"Good. Go wait for me."

Draco didn't lift his head to meet his eyes, but quietly asked Severus where he was planning to go.

"Wormtail and I's whereabouts are no longer your concern, since we won't be with you after today. You' be going, of course, to the Ministry."

Draco looked up, his pale grey eyes wide and wet.

"_What?"_

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**Thanks for reading! This should only be a simple, three-four part fic if everything goes according to plan. **

**What do you think about the Snape-Draco interaction? Pretty accurate or way off? I'm trying to reflect the relationship they seem to have in HBP.**

**Speaking of HBP, the only wrench I'm throwing into the normal course of things us Narissica's death. What was your reaction? To me it just seemed so possible–what do you think?**

**PLEASE DROP ME A LINE–even a couple-word comment is treasured.**

**Severus Forverus,**

**The Sneeze**


	2. Chapter 2

_Dedicated to hydraspit (for always reading) and psquare (for the best review I have ever read). _

* * *

Nymphadora Tonks hurried past row upon row of cubicles with Remus Lupin close at her heels. The frenetic buzz was such in the Department of Magical Law Enforcement that no one noticed them rushing by. 

"He's in here," she whispered a little too excitedly, coming to a sudden halt end of the hall. She pointed to the last door in the passageway, which was mounted with a shining gold plaque reading, 'Gawain Robards, Head of the Aurors'.

Lupin caught a glimpse of his own haggard reflection in the plaques pretentious gleam, and hesitated for a moment. Tonks squeezed his arm and smiled encouragingly. "It's alright. Robards _wants_ the Ministry and the Order to work together, just like we do. He'll try his best."

She turned the handle and he followed her into the office. The room itself was spacious, but was in such a state of chaos that only a few feet of it was inhabitable. Only when Lupin edged around a teetering stack of envelopes and papers was he able to see the couch, and the fair-haired boy crouched over on it.

Draco looked up sharply when they entered the room, and Lupin immediately noticed the expression of fear sketched in the boys features. Perhaps it was just the florescent lights, but Draco looked very sickly indeed; his skin was unnaturally pale, and dark, puffy circles bruised the flesh around his eyes.

Recognition fluttered behind Dracos eyes, but it didnt seem to calm his nerves in the least.

"You must be Mr. Lupin," uttered a soft voice from behind them. Turning, Lupin saw a wizard he assumed to be Tonks boss; a middle aged man with barrel-shaped chest and broad lips. He was dressed immaculately, but looked a little rough around the edges, like he could have done nicely with a hot bath and a shave.

"Mr. Robards," Lupin said quickly, shaking the mans outstretched hand. "You can call me Remus. I'm here to represent the Order in this matter."

"Jolly good," Robards muttered, his words so rushed that they had to lean in to hear clearly, "Now, if you don't mind, let's get straight to business. I trust Tonks has already told you about our little delivery this morning."

Tonks looked between the two men, fidgeting. "I told Remus that Draco walked into the Ministry unarmed, and of his own accord, at six thirty-five this morning."

"I regret not letting you in to see the boy earlier," Robards said, "But you know, what with the Ministry guidelines and all...he had to undergo questioning before anything else could be done."

"Questioning?" Lupin asked, clearly taken back. "By what methods? What did you find out?"

Robards eyes widened in surprise. "The exact details are confidential to the Ministry, sir. I can tell you, however, that we have a very strong hunch that Mr. Malfoy here was directly involved with the recent attack on Hogwarts.

"Of _course _he was!" Lupin gaped at the Head Auror. "Harry Potter made that quite clear in his testimony--but he_ also _said--"

"Mr. Lupin, as much faith as I personally have in Mr. Potter, the Ministry is not as quick to follow suit," Robard interrupted. "But what _is _helping his case greatly, is that we have multiple witnesses that are ready to back up his claims."

"But..." It was Tonks this time, speaking carefully, as if gathering her thoughts. "But...Harry was the _only_ witness at the Astronomy Tower that night...and if the Ministry doesn't believe Harry when he says that Draco lowered his wand when he had the chance to kill Dumbledore--if they dont believe Harry's testimony, then what are they going to do with Draco?"

There was a soft cry, and they turned to see the boy staring at them as if they had all turned into Dementors right before his eyes. His pasty face had taken on a deep flush of scarlet instead, and his pupils were frantic pinpoints zipping between the three adults.

"That's right Draco, we know," Tonks affirmed triumphantly. "Harry told us that you were being forced by Voldemort to do all those horrible things to protect your family. He's even given testimony on your behalf! I'm so proud of you for coming back to the Ministry--Dumbledore would have been too, of course--doing the right thing, and now we can --"

Lupin put his hand on her arm to stop her. He knew Tonks had had little contact with Draco over the years--or the Malfoys for that matter, what with her mum being exiled from the family--but her unfailing desire to see the good in people (_he_ couldnt seem to remember Harry being so tremendously forgiving of Malfoy's actions that night) was loosening her tongue a little too quickly.

But Draco could recognize a chance when he saw one. He summoned the tears, and they rushed forth quite effortlessly, rolling down his cheeks in wet streams.

"You-Know-Who...h-he...," he whispered, burying his head in his hands, "...killed my mother. She's dead." The words invoked shudders that he could have not faked, but as Tonks rushed to his side, he just stared into his palms, thinking furiously.

_Bloody sodding hell! __Potter was there that night! He heard all of that? Snape must have known it the entire time--__the bastard knew Potter wouldn'__t let me take the fall. No wonder Snape sent me to the Ministry...__he's just gambling that I won't __end up in Azkaban!_

Draco tried hard to focus on the voices in the room (though his words had left a substantial silence) , but found he could not get that nightfrom the Tower out of his head. He tried recounting his last conversation with Dumbledore word for word, now knowing that Harry was listening in, and felt an overpowering wave of humiliation. That boy knew_ all_ of his weaknesses now...

_How dare he tell the Ministry that I--__Dumbledore__s downfall!--__am some pitiful Ministry-sympathizer just because...__because of..._The stream of thought was ludicrous, he knew, but inescapable. _How can he assume to know what I was going to do, when I don'__t even know myself? _

"He'll have to undergo trial, Tonks. There's no way around _that_, especially with the public looking for someone to blame. We've _never _had so many Howlers sent to aurors before, and all because of the Hogwarts incident," Robard was saying when Draco tuned back in. "They're out for blood, and the Ministry'd be daft not to follow a lead."

"A _trial?_ With a full court, I imagine? That's how we're going to reward a frightened child whose just turned himself in? A child whos been manipulated by You-Know-Who all year? Don't you think his mum being murdered was terrible enough?"

Lupin and Draco gave her the same incredulous look at the exact same moment, although luckily, Dracos was hidden behind a mound of paperwork.

For the life of him, he couldn't understand why this witch would stick up for him. Hadn't she _been_ there that night? Hadn't she heard what he'd done? But still, she was battling for him, her hand clenching his shoulder and a look of determination set on her face. He stared at that expression of pure belief, and for a moment--just a moment--he almost believed his innocence himself.

"Tonks, they have to follow procedure," Lupin said gently, his eyes locking with hers. She frowned but held her tongue. He turned back to the Head Auror. "What will happen to Draco in the meantime?"

"Well..." mumbled Robard, looking suddenly guilty. "There's two weeks until the trial, and I had considered keeping the boy in Azka--"

"You can't be serious--he hasn't even been tried yet!" Lupin exclaimed.

"Well it's just cells now, isnt it? All the Dementors have gone, haven't they? And with the recent Death Eater break-in, The Ministry's had to move out most of the prisoners anyway--shipping 'em off to undisclosed locations so that You-Know-Who can't find 'em."

"The Order could look after him!" Tonks practically shouted, as if stuck by a bolt of genius.

"I cannot see that being a very good idea, Nymphadora," Lupin said patiently. "Nor is it up tous alone todecide such things."

"Remus-- I _can'__t _send anothercousin off to Azkaban! I just can't-- its not fair!"

There was a moment when all three adults looked at each other exasperatedly, and Draco felt the blood thump in his ears at double-pace.

"Alright, alright," Robard interrupted, lifting his hands as a sign of defeat. "I'll have a room assigned for him, and he can stay at the Ministry until his trial."

Tonks broke out into a relieved grin, and Robard pointed his finger at her. "Don't be so pleased--he'll be confined to his quarters,witha guard placed on him every second of the day."

They spent the next ten minutes solidifying the final details, and once Lupin had secured the date and time of the trial, they were ready to go.

Tonks hugged Draco as if she had been doing so all her life (instead of being the scorned family outcast), and while part of him screamed _MUDBLOOD!_ as she patted his back, he didnt pull away.

It would have been too obvious.

* * *

Tonks's hair turned brilliantly blue as she watched it in the full-length mirror; she titled her head and it grew down past her shoulders, curling noticeably at the ends. 

"What do you think?" she asked as a pair of arms wrapped around her from behind.

"Lovely...mmmmm..." Lupin answered, burying his face in the curve of her neck. She squirmed as he nibbled; she was beyond ticklish, and he knew it.

They were standing in her room in number twelve, Grimmauld Place. It had been about a week since the visit to the Ministry, and they hadn't been able to spend much time together since then; work had consumed both their lives.

She leaned back into him and they stood there, swaying gently for a few minutes.

"Er...Remus?"

He looked up, his eyes half-closed and clouded. She could tell it was close to the full moon just by looking at him.

"I've been talking to some people in the Order...about the Draco thing," she mumbled.

This seemed to wake him up considerably, but he didnt move away. Looking up so he could study her face in the mirror, he asked simply, "And?"

"And, generally, they seem to think that Headquarters is as good a place as any to keep him if his trial goes well. I mean, where else would he go?"

Silence.

"Oh? Who have you spoken to?"

"Most everyone. Even if they can't stand the Malfoys, like Author, they'd still rather havehim under their thumb then out of reach. Shacklebot and Doge just want to interrogate him in their own way, but Molly and I really just want to give him a new start, you know? I told her about his mum and she just fell to--"

"Narcissa was a Death Eater, Tonks." Lupin interrupted, which was unlike him. "She would have killed both you and Molly if given half-a-seconds chance." Tonks cheeks started to get a pinkish tinge to them, and she broke eye contact. "And I hate to be skeptical of your cousin, sweetie--but I don't wholeheartedly believe him. We don't even know for sure that he's telling the truth about Narcissa. It is a _very_ real possibility that he's an acting spy for Voldemort."

_If only we still had Snape to read his thoughts and find out for sure, _Lupin mused before he could stop himself.

"I'm not daft," Tonks snipped. "I _know_ he could be, and I'd take full responsibility, I _would_. But Harry said Dumbledore wanted to help Draco, and so do I. It was, you know...the last thing Dumbledore tried to do, and...if it's something he would have wanted..."

"Oh," Lupin smiled, breathing softly in her ear. "Is that what this is about? One last mission for Dumbledore?"

She twisted around in his arms to eye him an accusingly. "What did you _think_ it was about?"

"I dunno...At first I thought you were trying to salvage the family you never really knew--trying to fit in for once." He let the tiniest smile leak and she pinched him.

"I've done fine without those people my entire life, and I dont need to 'fit in' with them now! Just because I have some sympathy left for--"

He tried to explain, but ended up just making her more and more bristly until he had to grab her and hold her so close to him that all her words were muffled against his shirt.

Finally, when she had gone completely silent, he loosened his grip and she threw her arms around his neck, kissing him soundly.

* * *

Draco was miserable. Truly, truly miserable. He had been stuck in the same room for almost two weeks, abandoned in the beating heart of his enemy--the Ministry. Or, what had previously been his enemy, considering that the Dark Lord had dismissed him as easily as yesterdays rubbish. All his friends would soon follow suit once they heard that the Malfoy name was disgraced in Death Eater circles. His father was cowering in Azkaban, and his mother was dead... 

He tried not to think of it, but the problem with being imprisoned was there was nothing to do _but_ think. He spent practically a whole week sprawled out on the stone floor, starring at the ceiling and simpering. When he finally couldn't stand the raw, painful feeling for one moment longer, he compartmentalized the memory and put it away, like his Aunt Bellatrix had taught him to do during his Occlumency lessons.

On the first day of the second week, a memo wormed its way under the door and flew into his hands. He blinked, wondering how it had gotten around the security outside his room, and opened it. It read:

_Well done on making it this far. I hope life isn'__t so comfortable in there that you forget your goal. Remember what we went over. Practice closing your mind, just in case. If you can get past the trial, The Order is planning to take you into their custody. The Dark Lord hasn'__t heard this news yet, but doesn__t seem to care about your whereabouts. We'__ll be in contact. _

_-S_

_Release this note immediately. _

Draco dropped the memo just in time for it to explode in a shower of green sparks, which he stomped out angrily.

"The Order? The bloody _Order_?" he growled, kicking the side of his bed. _This was Snape'__s plan? He'__s the one that kills Dumbledore, but I have to burn for it? Straight into the bloody lion'__s den. _

Then an unpleasant thought crossed his mind, and his lungs squeezed painfully. _The Dark Lord is going to be furious if the Order takes me in. That, or..._Draco closed his eyes. _Or he'__ll want me to leak information on them. He'__ll try to use me again--but I can'__t! He has to know I can'__t! They'__ll find me out, and then I'__m dead for sure! He'__ll never let me go now...__he'__ll just keep using me until I get myself killed..._

Draco fell back on the mattress, glaring up at the ceiling. "That bastard..." he mumbled, thinking of Snape. "He wants me dead and there's nothing I can do about it."

* * *

When the date of the trial finally came, it seemed that Severus would have his way. It was far less crowded in the courtroom then when Draco had visited with his father in the past. The seating around the dark stone walls was nearly empty, excluding a scattering of Order members, all of whom he recognized from rather unorthodox 'lessons.' 

"Diggle, Dedalus," he could almost hear his father whisper. "In his second go-round with the Order. Always wears that pathetic hat. As senseless as a troll. Excitable. Bad knees. Frequents the Leaky Cauldron and lives in Kent with his Mudblood wife."

Draco had the peculiar feeling that the court had made their decision before even entering the windowless room. For one, keeping this trial so small must have involved quite a bit of sweeping under the rug. For another, he didn't even recognize the judge. Odder still, the jury had hardly looked in his direction.

Everything so far had been very straight to the point. Draco had been questioned ("yes, He let me go, yes, He killed my mother, yes, He wanted me to kill Dumbledore, no, I didnt want to,") and was led back to his seat.

Lupin once again represented the Order, offering to keep the boy under lock and key if the Court would allow it. He made a short argument on why this would be the wisest decision for all parties involved. No one in the room seemed surprised in the least to hear this, further establishing Draco's suspicions that strings had been pulled.

Just as Draco assumed the jury was finishing up, Harry Potter entered the court room. He was quickly signaled to the front, carefully avoiding Dracos appalled face as he made his way by. Something very cold slid down Draco's spine.

The Boy-Who-Lived looked substantially taller at first glance, but that was impossible--it had only been a matter of weeks since they had last seen each other, not nearly long enough to make a difference in height. Still, Harry seemed particularly imposing, conjuring in Draco's mind the fearful notion thathe himself had shrunk.

"Do you still maintain your testimony about the Malfoy boy, Mr. Potter?" The Court asked.

Harry merely nodded, his unkempt hair brushing the collar of his robe.

"That he lowered his wand?"

Harry nodded again. The jury twittered slightly at this, but Harry kept his eyes trained on the judge. The boy radiated self-confidence and purpose.

"Would you like to add anything to it before we make our decision?"

Harry paused for a long moment before answering. "Malfoy isn't evil. Hes a pathetic, lying, back-stabbing, Death Eater wannabe, and he's so full of hate he can hardly see, but he's not evil. He got in over his head--let himself be manipulated--because he's not very good at walking the walk. I think Voldemort letting him go is just further proof of that.Malfoy deserves a lot of things, but not Azkaban."

There was nothing angry behind Harrys word's; he was just giving his honest opinion.

Draco wanted to climb over the table separating them and pound Harry'sskull against the stone floor until it shattered. The impulse was so strong that the muscles in his arms actually rippled with the desire to inflict harm.

The small audience rumbled slightly, mostly because Harry had used Voldemort's name, but quickly regained their composure.

"Well then...you're finished?"

Harry nodded once more, and was dismissed. He walked back the way he came, once more passing as if he hadn't even seen the Malfoy sitting there. If Draco could have raised his own eyes, he would have noticed the bushy-haired girl and the red-headed boy waiting at the back door for their friend.

Instead, he was carefully compartmentalize and putting away the humiliation he felt rolling over him wave by wave.At worst his exterior was grim, but nothing out of place for the circumstance. He even managed to return a nod from Tonks.

After a few minutes of discussion, the jury broke for deliberation, and he was taken back to his room for the interlude.

He stood placidly in the middle of the room until the guard locked his door. The moment the bolt slid closed, Draco began to scream. He shrieked wordlessly, slamming his foot into the bedposts and bruising his fists on the stone floor. He quickly worked himself up so much that he lurched over and vomited. He remained bowed over like that for an hour, as if in prayer to an unnamed god of rage.

The next day, the paperwork was signed and The Order of the Phoenix came to take him away.

* * *

_Oh. My. Gosh. Writing this chapter was like shitting a brick, and that brick was named Draco. I blame my mind for constantly harping, "Is that plausible?Malfoy isn't whiny enough. Is The Order on drugs? You can't write Lupin/Tonks--you don't even like them as a couple! What does the Lexicon say?" ecetera. Plus, I realize that I'm frightened of post-HBP Harry. He's so self-assuredly filling in his role of savior...I think that helps freak out Draco as well. Next chapter--gasp!-actual character interaction with --thank God!--not just Draco!_

_Also...I would be lying if I didn'tadmit that it was your reviews that keep me inspired. Thanks!_

_Foreverus, _

_the sneeze_


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